Becoming Popular Through The “All Villains” Variety Show – Chapter 62 Part 2

Part 2 of Chapter 62

This chapter is brought to you by Celestialsiren, thanks for the ko-fi!  (ﾉ´ヮ`)ﾉ*: ･

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Please Like Her 13 – Different scripts + Scumbag Brother + Interaction between male and female leads.

Shang Lu thought for a moment and then smiled, saying, “Alright, but let me make it clear as well. If the script doesn’t work or the role isn’t suitable, I can refuse Director Han Cheng so I can also refuse you, Director Song.”

Song Zeqian chuckled lightly and spoke with extreme confidence, “You will definitely like this script.”

Shang Lu responded with a casual “Oh” and didn’t change her attitude much, saying, “Well, let’s wait and see then.”

Of course, Shang Lu’s calmness was just an act.

The moment the call ended, she slapped her own face.

It hurt a bit, so it wasn’t a dream.

She had just declined Han Cheng’s production, and she felt a bit regretful that she might not get to work with such a good production team in the short term. But then Song Zeqian came knocking on her door voluntarily? Was she really in such high demand?

Although Song Zeqian had only offered her an audition opportunity, as long as it was a script and a role she liked, no matter how difficult, she would do her best.

Soon after, Shang Lu received the script sent by Song Zeqian.

Along with a message.

[ The details haven’t been fully worked out yet, but the story won’t change ]

Shang Lu opened the script, and the title caught her eye, <Evil>.

She started reading further down.

Soon, she realized that Song Zeqian was right; she did indeed like this script.

The script was based on a real-life event that had caused a huge uproar on the internet two years ago, with some modifications for creative purposes.

It told the story of a remote and impoverished village where female infants were often drowned by their families shortly after birth. These families both looked down upon not having male heirs to carry on their family names and felt troubled by their inability to marry and have children due to the scarcity of women.

As a result, in such a village, incidents like ‘buying wives,’ ‘swapping wives,’ and even ‘sharing wives among brothers’ occurred frequently.

But no one considered this wrong because almost every family depended on such practices to continue their family line.

Human trafficking groups also saw an opportunity here. The village was extremely remote, and even the nearest town was a few hours’ walk away. Women who were sold here had almost no chance of escaping, even if they were left unguarded, because of the confusing mountainous terrain.

One could say that this place was an ‘isolated paradise,’ not because it was beautiful, but because it was almost cut off from the outside world.

As a result, countless women were kidnapped from towns and cities and brought here. They were priced based on their appearance and whether they were considered ‘good for childbearing.’

The village was quite large, with every few households having a ‘wife,’ ‘daughter-in-law,’ or ‘mother’ who had been brought there.

In the beginning, they resisted and tried to escape. Some had their legs broken, and others were shackled with iron chains in rooms filled with firewood and miscellaneous items. In the end, every household had its own secret method to deal with such women.

The story of <Evil> takes place in one of the most ordinary families.

The head of this household is a lifelong bachelor named Wang, who saved up his earnings for half a lifetime to buy a wife. He was lucky to purchase the most beautiful woman among the group. It is said that she was also a university graduate, so he paid an extra two hundred yuan for her.

Over the years, the woman gave birth to five children for him.

There may have been more, but in the end, only those five survived. Her health deteriorated completely, and she was bound in a room with iron chains for years.

The real story, however, begins twenty years later.

In a world completely different from the mountain village, all five children have grown up.

Perhaps due to inheriting their mother’s excellent genes, the eldest daughter had already been admitted to a university and quickly established herself in the city after graduating. She became an admired elite white-collar worker in a listed company. During high school, she studied for free and even earned scholarships, which made her father very happy.

The eldest daughter took on numerous part-time jobs after university and sent every penny she earned back home.

Because of her earnings, in this abnormal environment, she somehow made her father realize the importance of education, which also changed the destinies of her younger siblings.

The eldest son of this family was quiet and reserved, but he had a talent for academics like his sister. He became a doctoral student in the medical department of a top-tier university.

The second daughter was the most different from this family. She was beautiful, outgoing, and cheerful, attracting the attention of numerous families in the village who wanted her as a daughter-in-law. She wasn’t a good student, but her exceptional looks led her to encounter a talent scout while working as a waitress, launching her into the entertainment industry. Although she didn’t become a big star, she gained some level of fame, but her lack of education meant that her company took advantage of her in her contract, leaving her with only a small share of her earnings. Still, it was more money than an ordinary worker could ever hope to earn, so it was enough.

As for the second son and the youngest daughter, they were fraternal twins.

The older brother had a difficult personality and had been the village’s little bully since childhood. The younger sister, on the other hand, was extremely timid.

Both of them attended a ‘prestigious high school’ in the city. The older brother looked down on his sister for being weak-willed, and the sister was afraid her brother would get into trouble and she would get involved, so they decided to pretend they didn’t know each other.

Both siblings were art students, with one excelling in sports and the other in painting. They were both top performers in the provincial exams, and as long as they passed the college entrance exam, they could choose any first-tier university.

These were five people who, on the surface, seemed to have no connection, but they all came from the same family.

The rest of the village also envied Old Wang, as he managed to marry a wife with such excellent genes, resulting in intelligent children. In their later years, they were expected to enjoy a comfortable life.

In June of that year, Old Wang’s second son and youngest daughter both participated in the college entrance exam. However, after the exam, they received the news of their mother’s passing.

When they rushed back home, what they saw was their mother’s body, which had already decomposed and emitted a foul odor due to her suicide by drowning in the river. The wounds on her body, though, indicated that she had suffered severe abuse before her death.

However, among the five children, except for the youngest daughter who cried, the others didn’t show much emotion.

The eldest sister was always calm, while the eldest son remained silent, as if he had little attachment to the world. As for the second daughter, she was comforting her younger sister’s emotions.

The second son was the most troublesome member of the family. Despite being fraternal twins, he seemed to inherit more of his father’s negative traits. Apart from showing some care for his biological twin sister, he seemed completely indifferent to others.

Even their mother’s death didn’t elicit any sadness from him. Instead, he hurriedly asked the eldest sister how much monthly allowance he could expect in college.

Soon, the mother’s funeral was held according to the plan.

Everything seemed normal until the end of the three-day funeral when departing guests discovered Old Wang’s body lying at the doorstep of his house.

His eyes had been gouged out, his tongue severed, and his body stabbed eighteen times, leaving him lifeless.

The police immediately launched an investigation and were surprised to find that in what appeared to be an ordinary rural family, there were five such exceptional children.

After a thorough police investigation, the suspects in Old Wang’s murder were narrowed down to these five children.

What follows is a narrative style reminiscent of the movie <Rashomon>. Instead of taking a God’s eye view, the story is told through different perspectives, constantly exploring and making the truth even more elusive.

Just when it seems like the truth is about to emerge, new evidence appears to turn the situation around.

True and false, false and true.

Because all five of them are lying.

Even the second son, his wickedness and foolishness were just a façade to make his father trust him even more, so he could help reduce the abuse his mother and sister suffered in this dysfunctional family.

The truth no longer matters. Through their narratives, it brings to light the childhood traumas and harm that developed in such a twisted family.

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